The four-year project will develop strategies to increase sustainability and resilience. “There is a general consensus that our food production system and consumption must change, however we still need more knowledge on how to achieve this change. That includes identifying both obstacles and opportunities along the way”, says Helena Hansson, professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and the principle investigator for the project.
They will tackle these challenges with a team of researchers and experts in food production and policy. The project, “Mistra Food Futures”, is funded by Mistra (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) with SLU as the lead institution and an interdisciplinary consortium including Stockholm University’s Stockholm Resilience Centre, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
One goal of the project is to create the framework for meeting environmental targets by 2045, including zero emissions of greenhouse gases from Swedish agriculture.
Line Gordon, SRC director and co-applicant adds, “Our work will stretch beyond Swedish-based production and look at all aspects of the food system, including underlying global dynamics”.
The hope is that this programme, with its broad range of actors in research, innovation and industry, has the best possible chance for progress toward a resilient and sustainable food supply.